Crepin Subjugation Battle (7)
―Valid! bang!
The sword rolled on the floor.
Ross Taylor Hall on the 3rd floor of the Ross Taylor mansion annex.
Ed is standing upright amidst all the luxurious decorations. She does not yet have a reliable physique, and her behavior is immature.
It hasn’t been long since the baptism ceremony, so it’s still young. Even so, it is admirable that he is trying to control his body and show off his sturdy appearance as a member of the Ross Taylor family.
Ross Taylor Hall, which is used as an event hall and as a practice sparring hall between nobles in peacetime, is also a place where many famous duels took place throughout history.
In this space where many famous warriors held duels, young Arwen and Ed would practice sparring.
As they clashed swords, exchanged swords, and sweated profusely, they were able to shake off the stress of the weight of being the heir.
However, their levels are quite different.
– ‘As expected, you are my sister.’
Ed in the memory smiles sheepishly as he looks at the fallen sword.
Arwen swung her sword in the air once and took it away.
And I tell Ed. I said my skills have improved a lot. I think I’ll be able to get into proper posture in just a little while.
– ‘Well, I don’t think I have any talent for swordsmanship. Magic doesn’t work at all, and I feel very confused… ‘I have a lot of concerns.’
Arwen encourages him as he puts his greatsword away.
We still have a lot of time left.
And we were born into the blessed status of being descendants of the Ross Taylor family.
There is fertile nourishment, so if you put in the appropriate effort, you will definitely see results.
When Arwen said those words with a kind face, Ed also picked up the knife and cleaned it up, laughing.
― ‘Thank you for saying that.’
Arwen and Ed look at each other and smile.
The Ross Taylor estate has a peaceful and beautiful atmosphere, as if blessed by God.
The warm sunlight seeped into the annex of the mansion, Ross Taylor Hall.
As the warmth of daylight settles in, I see Ed deep in thought, swinging his sword around.
Arwen gently closed her eyes and felt the peaceful warmth of early spring for a moment.
Almost all of the exterior walls of Ross Taylor Hall were blown away, so it can no longer be called a ‘hall’. It’s like a terrace.
Strange flesh is writhing and covering the remains of the building, and the sky is filled with the magic circle of Mebula and Lucy.
The sounds of battle between gremlins and spirits filled the grounds of the mansion, and occasionally the screams of people hit by the gremlin’s blade could be heard.
And, Ed Rothtaylor is standing in front of Arwen when she opens her eyes.
A tailcoat covered in blood, a dagger held in reverse, a bat spirit and a lion spirit standing around him, an enormous amount of mana that cannot be compared to before, a noticeably more muscular body, and cool-headed eyes.
The energy flowing from his body was enough for Arwen to realize.
Ed has no intention of going back.
It’s a mountain I’m determined to climb through. Therefore, Arwen also took a fighting stance.
-grasp!
Ed kicked the floor and jumped. The distance was narrowed in a straight line towards Arwen.
Arwen uses close combat using two great swords. Arwen, who did not think he would close the distance, quickly raised the ‘condemnation’ in his left hand.
However, just before entering the intersection… Ed skidded on the floor and came to a sudden stop. It was just a location that was out of range of the sword.
And then, naturally, she dropped the magic bead she had kept in her bosom onto the floor. Arwen reacted quickly and tried to spread the distance, but the orb was not a means of attack.
―Woe to you!
‘Magical Engineering?!’
‘Rake hand’.
It was a magical engineering product that could temporarily pull surrounding objects towards itself.
Although there was a limit to its output, it was a good tool to confuse opponents in close combat due to its fast activation speed.
Magical power emanated from the orb, and in an instant, the ‘condemnation’ that Arwen was holding began to be dragged away.
Arwen’s posture collapsed and her body was pulled in Ed’s direction.
However, narrowing the distance was also something Arwen was thankful for. As it is, Arwen’s auxiliary magics begin to exert their power in an instant.
A great sword the size of his body, ‘Day of Dawn’, was given a lightweight magic. Just like that, Arwen picked up his great sword and, with the inertia of being dragged by the claw hand, struck the sword where Ed was.
―Kwaang!
A level where you can freely turn on and off lightening magic while swinging a great sword. Arwen’s use of magical power had already reached a significant level.
When the lightweight magic was lifted and the weight hit the floor, dust rose up and momentarily obscured the view.
However, Arwen, who swung the sword, could tell. Ed was already out of range. He caught the moment he swung and took a big leap backwards.
Then why did you narrow the distance in the first place? The moment that question arose, a dagger stuck in the ground caught my eye through the dust.
It is a ceremonial dagger used at Ross Taylor Mansion. On the surface of the sword that Ed had been using ever since the day he was first kicked out of Ofilis Hall… The spirit ceremony was engraved in neat handwriting.
‘This… .’
-bang!
Before the spirit formula could be deciphered, a large explosion occurred first.
He succeeded in protecting his body by quickly manifesting the defensive magic imprinted in ‘Day of Dawn’… .
―Kwaang!
Next, the mid-level fire magic ‘one-point explosion’ hit Arwen’s solar plexus.
Arwen, who was hit directly and fell, barely managed to support herself by sticking her great sword into the floor. A stream of fresh blood flowed from him.
When the smoke clears, Ed, covered in blood, stands silently beyond it.
“many… You’ve become more seasoned… .”
Arwen stood up again, supporting the weight of her body with her great sword.
It is suicidal for a wizard to close the distance to a warrior as soon as the battle begins. However, Ed casually narrowed the distance, embarrassed the opponent, brought him back into the area, and then widened the distance again.
He looked like an expert who took the fight at his own pace, completely trampling on the sense of distance that ordinary warriors have.
With just one sum, Arwen recognized that Ed had grown incomparably compared to before.
The Ed of those days of sword sparring at Ross Taylor Hall is no longer there.
-grasp!
This time, Arwen kicked the floor and leapt.
The weight reduction magic that appeared momentarily eliminated the weight of the great sword. Just like that, Arwen kicked the handle of the sword of ‘Condemnation’ and sent it flying into the sky.
Then, he picks up the ‘Day of Dawn’ with both hands and lunges at it, cutting a large horizontal cut and removing the lightening magic.
A female warrior with a great sword who freely wields the weight of her sword. Watching that battle, it feels like watching a dancer dancing under the weight of a great sword.
―Woe to you!
Ed managed to avoid it by leaping backwards, but Arwen was pulled by the weight of the sword handle, which moved widely horizontally, and spun around and kicked the floor.
Arwen narrowed the distance once more and this time plunged her greatsword vertically. Ed tried to receive it by manifesting basic defensive magic, but ‘Day of Dawn’ was engraved with a penetrating magic that had an advantage over all defensive magic.
―Kaang!
―Changerang!
In an instant, Ed’s defensive magic shattered and the blade struck him. He barely managed to avoid the blade, but the tip of the blade grazed his shoulder, causing blood to spray out.
Ed let out a shallow groan and narrowed his eyes. However, it is important that the injury is not fatal.
―Quaak!
Ed stepped on the great sword that was stuck in the ground. Arwen’s pupils widened for an instant.
Arwen’s strength is not strong enough to freely handle such a large sword.
Arwen’s swordsmanship ultimately focuses on using lightweight magic to lift the great sword, swing it, and use the inertia of weight that occurs when the magic is released in between. Therefore, each movement feels as if it is dancing under the weight of the sword.
Rather than increasing the force itself, these movements develop a sense of identifying the center point of the force that has already occurred and twisting it to break it.
It allows you to use much greater destructive power than your physical strength, but there is a blind spot in that method.
A greatsword that is not lightweight is heavy and difficult to handle.
The lighter the greatsword is, the more affected it is by external forces.
In other words, if the great sword itself is weighed down by external pressure, the sword will not be able to be lifted even if lightening magic is used. Then, Arwen’s power will no longer be able to handle the sword.
‘In just two sums… ?’
It is a fatal blind spot, but it is not easy to see through it.
This is because the great sword itself looks extremely heavy and dull. Humans are affected by visual information more than we think.
When you see a sword this big and heavy, you don’t think about dodging or blocking it in any way… It is impossible to think of pressing down on the sword itself with its weight. Usually, it takes a long time to realize the law of destruction, or you never realize it until your head falls off.
However, after exchanging only two sums, Ed quickly figured out the law of destruction.
While Ed is trampling ‘Day of Dawn’, Arwen cannot use the sword.
‘It’s amazing agility, but… !’
However, just because Arwen did not assume this situation. Arwen let go of the handle of the great sword, turned around, and came out to his side.
The hem of the frayed skirt unfolds, and it seems as if a flower is blooming. Arwen, who had just spun around coolly, held another sword, ‘Condemnation’, in her hand.
It is easy to suppress one sword with its own weight, but it is difficult to suppress two swords at the same time. This is why Arwen uses two swords.
In preparation for times like this, a sword had just been thrown into the sky. Arwen’s body movements, which neatly caught the sword, were almost like a stunt.
Without stopping the rotation of the body, this time, using the weight of the ‘condemnation’, he makes a large horizontal cut. As Ed moved his body backwards to avoid the sword, he leapt forward again… I kick up the ‘day of dawn’ that has set me free.
The moment Arwen kicked up the ‘Daybreak’ and spun several times in the air with its weight removed, Arwen’s next attack was already flying towards Ed. A clean and sure sword strike is aimed at Ed’s shoulder.
When the large diagonal sword strike was thrown away with the ‘wind blade’, Arwen was once again drawn by the weight of the sword and spun around. With his empty hand, he picked up the ‘Day of Dawn’ that had just been kicked up, and while maintaining the spinning inertia, he launched his next attack.
-evil!
Ed succeeded in deflecting ‘Day of Dawn’ by manifesting the wind blade again, but the recoil caused him to fall heavily.
―Kwadangtang!
“As soon as you realized that defensive magic wouldn’t work, you started defense using elemental magic.”
Looking at Ed who had fallen, Arwen sharpened the blade of her great sword.
“It’s truly incredible agility, but it can’t stop physical force itself.”
Ed took a deep breath and stood up again. Her eyes are still intense.
Arwen swallowed her saliva at the look in her eyes.
Ed Rothtaylor’s battles were always based on ‘prior information’.
No matter who he was dealing with, if it was a character from , the way he would fight seemed good in his eyes.
However, Arwen Rothtaylor is a character completely outside the scenario.
There is no prior information, and you have to face everything for the first time.
Therefore, he widens his eyes and imprints the other person’s information into his mind.
From small body movements, magical principles, and behavioral habits… All information is captured and retrieved in an instant.
In just the first match, he embarrassed Arwen by freely controlling the distance, in the second match, he identified the blind spot of the lightweight magic and dug into it, and in the third match, he realized the defense-ignoring property imprinted in ‘Day of Dawn’ and even managed to deal with it.
The speed of adaptation is beyond that, and it seems as if you are becoming a completely different person, step by step.
Arwen looked at that… I had this intuition again.
He barely managed to get up after falling, and while covered in blood, he observed Arwen with his eyes wide open.
The opponent is a master of improvisation.
If you drag it into a long game, you will definitely lose.
Once Arwen’s fighting style is fully established, he will completely come up with a way to deal with it in an instant.
“Ed.”
When Arwen quietly calls the name, Ed answers.
“Now, do you have anything else to say?”
“Even now, can’t you just quit?”
“Whoa… .”
Ed slowly straightened his body, grabbed the dagger again, and gathered his magic power.
I didn’t want to summon a high-ranking spirit. Because he still has a battle left.
High-ranking spirits consume an absurd amount of magical power just by summoning them. Although it has only now become manageable, the fact that it is in fact a means of combat is no different.
Nevertheless, Arwen is more picky than you think.
The great sword has strong destructive power, but is heavy and slow.
How nonsensical it is to use a fighting method that breaks that obvious principle and fires attacks with the destructive power of a great sword as quickly as a dagger… I feel it again.
If necessary, even high-ranking spirits must be brought out.
“Maybe we… “We won’t understand each other until we die.”
Seeing Ed no longer even showing respect, Arwen lowered her head.
“Then we have no choice but to cross swords.”
What do you mean by family? In the end, Ed only goes to finish off Crepin in order to survive.
Be it a wife who is unable to break the family bond despite being beaten by her drunken husband, a dutiful son who does his duty until the end even under parents who treat their children like insects, or a woman who sacrifices her life to take care of even a child who is not even a child. Whether you became a parent or not.
Ed lived a few steps away from him.
We have already come too far to bind him with the bonds of blood ties.
Since that day when they parted ways on the terrace, all Ed’s respect for the Ross-Taylor family has burned away.
Now, the only thing left is a wizard who is bloodied and goes to catch Crepin.
There is no benefit in dragging it out for a long time. This should be the last sum.
Arwen was convinced of that and raised her sword. Ed had already kicked his seat and rushed towards him.
The passage of time is slow.
The image of Ed roaring and closing the distance is imprinted in Arwen’s eyes.
The sight reflected in Ed’s eyes is also the same.
There was no longer any hesitation left in Arwen’s appearance as she held up her great sword and made one final move.
A bat flies behind Ed, who is slowly closing the distance. Before Arwen can react, it bursts into flames.
The slowly flying flames are heading straight for Arwen.
Arwen lowers her posture, avoids the fire, and grants lightweight magic to ‘Day of Dawn’.
However, at that moment, the lioness Lacia snatches Arwen’s sword.
The manifestation of a spirit that was cherished and cherished until the end.
This last bit was a method that had not been used before to catch her off guard.
Arwen’s core weakness is that the moment it is lightened, the sword becomes excessively light.
The sword became so light that it could be bounced off with just a weak physical force, so it only took one kick from Lacia to throw the sword away.
However, there is still one bag left.
‘Condemnation’ used by the first swordsman Luden. The sword that was given to him by the imperial family as the glorious successor to Rosstaylor begins to shine.
The sword strike from Arwen’s hand was aimed straight at Ed’s body. If you stab it at the shortest distance, the speed of the attack will be much faster than Ed’s attack.
However, Ed knows.
Arwen Rothtaylor… You can’t ‘poke’.
Due to her fighting style, which relies on the weight of the sword to draw destructive power, stabbing, which requires her to withstand the weight of the sword with her own strength, is a technique that cannot be used.
Techniques that only lead to large cuts driven by the weight of the sword are completely neutralized when dug deep.
However, Arwen is also not unaware of that fact. Therefore, she unleashes the final magic imprinted on the ‘condemnation’ she holds in her hand.
‘Acceleration’ magic. The power that makes the body move instantly faster is not included in Ed’s calculations. This is an ability that Arwen kept hidden until the end.
So fast that it defies the laws of physics. The moment Arwen was about to strike Ed’s chest, she was taken aback by Ed’s response.
-Ed just closed his eyes tightly.
Have you given up everything? Not like that.
At that moment, the wind flowing near Ed’s body swirls around him.
The last move left for each other, but… In the move battle, Ed had slightly more hidden moves.
‘Blessing of the Storm’ that completely neutralizes attacks beyond recognition.
As the wind rose, Arwen’s sword was thrown away, and Arwen, whose body was lifted, became incapacitated.
The moment Ed grabbed the dagger and tried to stab the gap, Arwen also took the optimal action in an instant.
I clenched my teeth as if they were about to break, and clenched the hand holding the handle of the great sword tightly.
Using the weight of the great sword with the lightweight magic removed, he pulled down the handle and somehow succeeded in blocking Ed’s blow. With this, the final sum that catches each other off guard returns to a completely even state.
Let’s finish now. It feels like that kind of conversation took place.
It was the moment when, in a posture that regained stability in the air, each person struck the final blow.
One-on-one combat.
A variable that destroyed all the major premises struck the two.
―Kwaaaaaaaa!
―Whaaaaaaaa!
The wind blew again.
There is a girl who somehow manages to control the unstable wind magic and lands between the two.
The blonde hair fluttering against the background of the night sky is infinitely similar to Arwen’s color, and the sharp eyes are similar to Ed’s.
The girl who landed from the central spire to Rosstaylor Hall with its broken ceiling in one go was a variable that neither Arwen nor Ed could have imagined.
Tanya’s expression can be seen as time slows down.
He looks like he’s crying, angry, or embarrassed.
Too much information is flooding into the girl’s head.
The Los Taylor estate suddenly went into an uproar. Broken mansion annex. Arwen is alive with a bizarre appearance. Ed climbs the annex after becoming bloodless. And the battle between the two.
In an urgent situation where we don’t know anything and don’t know how to judge, there is still a little bit of magic left in her hand as it appears between the two exchanging the last sum.
Just once, you can weakly but reliably manifest wind magic.
Arwen and Ed. A single hit from both of them will destroy all defenses.
Between the two, Tanya’s eyes… She turns to Arwen, who has always looked after her with kindness.
The image of my older sister, whom I cannot help but love, comes into view.
――I remember the night I was hugged on the terrace.
Ed, who had been telling him to come this way in the dark, was sent away by Tanya.
I just didn’t know why and was scared, so I cried in Arwen’s arms.
Between the two, Tanya followed Arwen’s path.
So Ed left Terrace, headed to Aken Island, and survived in solitude. Tanya did not stand next to him.
The day Ed left the mansion, I just watched his lonely figure from afar, hiding behind the curtain behind the window.
Tanya Rosstaylor now knows what thorny path he has walked since that day.
―Whaaaaagh!
I don’t know the reason for the situation or the whole story.
In a final agreement where even a hundredth of a second was too precious, Tanya threw wind magic at Arwen’s hand.
―Whaaaaaaaa!
―Kagang
The last ‘condemn’ in Arwen’s hand was thrown out of her hand.
The moment Arwen quickly tried to widen the distance…
―Quaak!
Ed dug in, and Arwen’s shoulder was pierced with a dagger.
